Del Likes Kayaking

5 awesome white water rivers to paddle in Ireland!

Post author By Del
Post date February 6, 2024
No Comments on 5 awesome white water rivers to paddle in Ireland!

Following a trilogy of articles I recently wrote about my favourite white water rivers to paddle in England, Wales and Scotland, I was left thinking about what the best rivers to paddle in other countries would be. I recently took an Irish friend (the lovely Alex McClure) paddling for her first ever trip to the river Tees. Whilst paddling we got chatting about rivers in Ireland and I thought it would be lovely to do a following blog article on awesome white water rivers in Ireland.

Alex kindly put me in touch with another friend of hers – Catherine Mahon. Catherine seems to be one of the most enthusiastic paddlers in Ireland and was very happy to share her favourite rivers with me. She kindly agreed to let me then share those with you all through this article.

General

5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in Scotland

Post author By Del
Post date January 28, 2024
5 Comments on 5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in Scotland

Welcome to the third article in my little series on my favourite UK white water rivers to paddle! In my previous articles, I discussed my favourite English and Welsh rivers and this article is going to focus on my favourite white water rivers in Scotland.

I have nowhere near the same number of paddling days in Scotland as I do in England and Wales and consequently do not have the range of experience to draw from. I have however very much enjoyed every kayaking trip I’ve had to Scotland and there are a few rivers which I would strongly recommend paddling! As always, please do leave a comment to share your favourite Scottish rivers.

General

5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in Wales!

Post author By Del
Post date January 14, 2024
1 Comment on 5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in Wales!

Welcome to the second article in my little series on my favourite UK white water rivers to paddle! My last article was about my favourite English rivers and this article is going to focus on my favourite white water rivers in Wales. Enjoy!

General

5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in England

Post author By Del
Post date January 5, 2024
2 Comments on 5 of my favourite white water rivers to paddle in England

I often get asked the question – what are your favourite UK rivers to paddle? It is always a difficult one to answer! Partly because there are so many rivers well worth paddling across the UK and each have very different characteristics which make them enjoyable. I have put together a little series of articles looking at my favourite English, Welsh and Scottish rivers. As a Nottingham girl, I thought I would start with the English rivers!

General

Making New Year’s resolutions for kayaking you’ll actually stick to!

Post author By Del
Post date December 31, 2023
No Comments on Making New Year’s resolutions for kayaking you’ll actually stick to!

It’s that time of year again where the days of indulgence are dwindling and people look to celebrate the new year and the ‘new me’ that comes with it. Setting new years resolutions is a common habit that many of us follow but few of us follow through. Those first few weeks of January are full of optimism, determination and a desire to achieve those new year goals. So why is it that so many of those goals will remain unachieved and new habits forgotten by the end of the year?

This article aims to summarise an effective way to set kayaking specific new year’s resolutions. If you read through to the end, I have also shared one of my own goals with you too.

General

2023 Paddling Reflections

Post author By Del
Post date December 21, 2023
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Somehow I’ve got myself into the habit of reflecting on my paddling every new year and with just a week left of 2023, the time has come to reflect once more! I find the process of doing so strangely therapeutic as well as helping me to set goals for the coming year. This article is definitely more for me to organise my own thoughts but if you fancy reading my annual paddling reflections – please do go on!

Guest posts

Meet the young Scottish paddlers making a splash in whitewater kayaking

Post author By Del
Post date November 12, 2023
1 Comment on Meet the young Scottish paddlers making a splash in whitewater kayaking

How could you make the perfect paddling crew? If you asked most paddlers that question, they would probably list off answers such as ‘get a group where they are all really good friends’, ‘people who are all eager to get out on the water regularly’, ‘people who can have fun together’ or ‘paddlers who support and encourage each other to grow into better paddlers.’ Every paddler hopes and dreams for the perfect crew and there is one little group in Scotland that seem to have done a pretty good job in making theirs.

Kyle Roger, Taylor Stevenson, Rowan Andrew and Niamh Shannon are four paddlers based in Glasgow and all working at Pinkston Watersports centre. Young, enthusiastic and fun to be around, these four individuals are some of the core paddlers that are helping to grow Scottish kayaking right now. Recently supported by Pyranha Kayaks, they have been regular attenders of kayaking events across the UK over the last year and are making a name for themselves. They have kindly agreed to be involved in this article so that you can get to know them a little better. So sit back and let me introduce you!

ShePaddles Trips

East Midlands ShePaddles weekend 2023

Post author By Del
Post date September 3, 2023
19 Comments on East Midlands ShePaddles weekend 2023

A few months ago, I was asked if I was keen to be involved in the East Midlands (EM) ShePaddles weekend that was happening at Broadway’s Meadow on the first weekend of September. I love paddling and sharing that love with others so of course I said yes! It turned into a brilliant weekend with amazing weather and lots of happy paddlers. I wanted to share that through an article so please do have a read.

Freestyle Trips

Euro Open 2023 – Making freestyle fun!

Post author By Del
Post date August 31, 2023
1 Comment on Euro Open 2023 – Making freestyle fun!

You might have seen the videos of scores of paddlers floating down Holme Pierrepont on inflatables and wondered what was going on. The answer to that is the Dewerstone European Open! Euro Open is a freestyle focused event that happens at the end of August every summer in Nottingham. It is one of my favourite events and one that I highly encourage people to attend. Here is my recount of Euro Open 2023.

Freestyle Trips

GB Freestyle Academy Camp 2023

Post author By Del
Post date August 28, 2023
1 Comment on GB Freestyle Academy Camp 2023

If you were in Nottingham at Holme Pierrepont white water course at the end of August, you might be wondering why every eddy and every feature seemed to be full of teenagers in playboats. The reason is because the GB Freestyle Academy Camp was happening! This was a camp aimed to improve and inspire young paddlers in freestyle kayaking and something I was lucky enough to be involved in. This article is here to tell you all about it – enjoy!